Langdon Ridge SSSI Essex Notification under section 28C of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 Issued by Natural England’s West Anglia Area Team on 29 June 2018. Contact points and further information This notification document is issued by Natural England’s West Anglia Team Our address for correspondence is: Natural England Suite D, Unex House Bourges Boulevard Peterborough PE1 1NG Telephone: 07717478159 E-mail: [email protected] Online: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-england/langford-ridge Your contact point for enquiries relating to this notification is the Langdon Ridge SSSI Team consisting of Zoe Ringwood, Nicola Orchard, and Michael Parkin. A second document (Langdon Ridge SSSI - supporting information) is available on request from the address above. This contains information and extracts from relevant documents that have been used in the decision to notify this SSSI under Section 28C. The date of notification of the Langdon Ridge SSSI is 29 June 2018. Page 2 Contents 1. Summary ....................................................................................................................... 4 2. The legal background .................................................................................................... 4 3. Making representations ................................................................................................. 5 4. Reasons for notification ................................................................................................. 6 6. Site boundaries and relationships with other SSSIs ...................................................... 7 7. Management of the SSSI .............................................................................................. 8 8. Supporting information .................................................................................................. 8 9. Legal documents ........................................................................................................... 8 Annex 1 Citation ........................................................................................................................ 9 Annex 2 Views about Management ..................................................................................... 13 Annex 3List of operations requiring Natural England’s consent ...................................... 19 Annex 4 Map(s) showing the land notified .......................................................................... 23 Page 3 1. Summary 1.1 This document explains why the Langdon Ridge is notified by Natural England as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 1.2 Langdon Ridge SSSI supports a diverse mosaic of semi-natural habitats, including grasslands, broad-leaved woodlands, mature scrub, and species-rich hedgerows. It is of special interest for the following nationally important features that occur within and are supported by the wider habitat mosaic: species-rich neutral grasslands and fen meadows, ancient and long-established semi-natural woodlands, assemblages of invertebrates chiefly associated with open short swards and scrub-heath, and populations of the plant Deptford pink. 1.3 Previously, one SSSI (Basildon Meadows SSSI notified in 1985) has been notified in the Langdon Ridge area; this consisted of three small fragmented meadows covering 6.7 ha. Langdon Ridge SSSI includes the land previously notified as Basildon Meadows SSSI along with substantial extensions (totalling 338.92 ha) stretching for 4.5 km across the landscape. This encompasses key elements of the local ecological network and secures connectivity between these areas through the inclusion of key linkages. The total area of the enlarged SSSI is 345.75 ha. 1.4 Langdon Ridge SSSI has a long history of public interaction with the natural environment and includes the Langdon Nature Reserve (including Dunton Plotlands, Lincewood Nature Reserve, Marks Hill Nature Reserve and Willow Park Nature Reserve) as well as Langdon Hills Country Park. 1.5 The Annexes to this document comprise the legal papers that detail the scientific interest of Langdon Ridge SSSI and the management required to maintain that interest, as well as maps of the site. You have a right to make representations or objections to the notification of Langdon Ridge SSSI. Part 3 of this document explains how to do this. 1.6 Additionally, Natural England’s consent is required by owners and occupiers before the operations listed in Annex 3 can be carried out. We will work closely with owners and managers, as well as other bodies, to ensure that existing operations and new works that are not considered likely to damage the special features of the SSSI can be carried out as usual. 2. The legal background 2.1 Basildon Meadows SSSI is enlarged under section 28C of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and is now known as the Langdon Ridge SSSI. 2.2 The Langdon Ridge SSSI includes land within and extending beyond Basildon Meadows SSSI (as previously notified in 1985). 2.3 With effect from the date of this notification under section 28C of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the previous notification of Basildon Meadows SSSI given in 1985 ceases to have effect (section 28C(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). 2.4 Part 8 of this notification document contains the following legal papers required by section 28C of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: • a citation detailing the reasons for notification under section 28C (Annex 1) • a statement of Natural England’s views on the management of the SSSI (Annex 2) • a list of operations requiring Natural England’s consent (Annex 3) • maps identifying the land subject to the notification under sections 28C (Annex 4). Page 4 2.5 The notification of the SSSI under section 28C has several effects. The key ones can be summarised as follows: • owners and occupiers must give Natural England notice before carrying out, causing or permitting to be carried out any of the activities in the list of operations at Annex 3; • owners of land included in the SSSI have a legal obligation to notify Natural England within 28 days if the ownership or occupancy of the land changes; • it is an offence for any person intentionally or recklessly to destroy or damage the special features of the SSSI or to disturb any of the fauna; and • other public bodies must consult Natural England before carrying out or authorising any works that may damage the SSSI. If you require any further information or advice on how these notifications affect you, please do not hesitate to contact Natural England at the address shown at the beginning of this notification document. 3. Making representations 3.1 You have a legal right to make objections and representations about this notification. Any representations, including those supporting the notification or objections, should be made in writing to Natural England’s West Anglia Area Team by 29 October 2018. Representations can be sent by post, e-mail or online to the address shown on page 2. You may wish to seek legal or independent advice and your representative may wish to write to us on your behalf. 3.2 Natural England’s West Anglia Area Team will consider your objections or representations and will try to resolve them. If there are no unresolved objections, approval to confirm the notification will be considered by an appropriate Natural England Director within nine months of this notification. 3.3 Any unresolved objections or representations will be considered by the Board of Natural England within nine months of this notification. If there are unresolved objections, confirmation of this notification is likely to be considered at the Board meeting provisionally scheduled for February 2019. Please note the desirability of the notification (for instance, for socio-economic reasons) will not form part of the Board’s decision. Following consideration of objections and representations, the Board of Natural England may confirm or withdraw all or part of this notification. In reaching its decision the Board will consider whether, in light of the objections and representations received, Natural England remains of the opinion that the site is of special scientific interest. If you wish to emphasise any of your objections or representations to the Board in person, you should tell us when you write to us. You will then be advised of the date and location of the Board meeting. 3.4 Natural England will accept correspondence relating to unresolved objections up to seven days prior to the Board meeting at which the confirmation is due to be considered. Correspondence received after this date will only be presented to the Board in very exceptional circumstances and you will be expected to provide justification as to why there has been a delay in providing the information. The decision whether this information will be submitted to the Board is entirely at Natural England’s discretion. The reason that there is a seven day cut off is to allow Board members sufficient opportunity to consider all of the issues and read all the relevant paperwork before they meet to take their decision. 3.5 Natural England has a policy of openness, which reflects our obligations under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This legislation provides a legal right of access to information held by public bodies. This means that we will provide information on how we make our decisions on SSSIs to any person on request. This includes details of objections and representations received. We